May 10 (UPI) — Arizona wildlife officials said a woman attempted to rescue a seemingly injured owl and ended up getting trapped in her car by the bird.
The Arizona Department of Game and Fish posted photos to Twitter showing the owl that the woman found in a dazed state on a road north of Tucson about 11:30 p.m. Monday.
“She retrieved it from the roadway, and it was essentially motionless, and took it into her car and at that time it revived and latched onto her steering wheel and her sleeve,” Game and Fish spokesman Mark Hart told The Arizona Republic. “Her intention there was to render aid.”
Hart said the woman’s mother called Game and Fish officials to report her daughter was trapped in her car with the owl.
Officials suggested the woman attempt to douse the owl with water to get it to relax its grip, but the bird simply drank the water.
“She’s fortunate she wasn’t hurt,” Hart said. “We have instances ranging from people trying to aid a coyote hit by a car and down on the street only to be bitten, to people separating young wildlife from their mothers in the mistaken notion that a mother has abandoned the small animal.”
The owl eventually released its grip and left the car on its own without showing any apparent signs of injury, Hart said.
“Don’t risk getting hurt aiding injured wildlife,” the department tweeted.
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